Naming of Towanda

Naming of Towanda. . , When the first European settlers came to Towanda it was covered with a dense growth of timber and shrubs from which came its first name "Canewood." The name Towanda is an Indian term. Awandae in the Nanticoke tongue signified "a burial place." Towandaemunk in the Delaware language means "where there is a burying," or "where we bury the dead." Legend attributes the name of Towanda Creek, named after young Chief "Towanda." Other sources indicate the name to be derived from Gowanda, an Indian word meaning "a town among the hills by the waterside" or from Dawantan, an Iroquois word signifying "fretful or tedious." Other early placenames were Meansville, Overton, Monmouth, Claverack, Vauxhall, and Williamston.